Naruto: The Medical Ninja

Chapter 250: Chapter 247: A Blink of Hope

The heavy, despair-worn door of Ward-4 creaked open to a stark, quiet interior. This hospital wing, a final testament to medical limits, was where hope often flickered and died, leaving behind only a profound silence.

”Apprentice Hamura,” Doctor Hoshino announced, her voice flat with weary despair. ”There are a lot of patients in this ward who have a condition that no doctor could figure out and that all known treatments have failed to help.”

She smiled and asked, ”Still keen to expand your knowledge? Or will you admit you’re just an apprentice?”

In response, Ryu remained steadfast and said, ”The greater the challenge, the greater the understanding,” quoting his guiding philosophy: ”The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible.”

Ryu’s response irritated her.

Ryu’s calm, confident gaze met Doctor Hoshino’s. ”Shall we?”

Ryu subtly gestured for Doctor Hoshino to lead, indicating his readiness to follow her lead and decisions. ”I hope you’re not leading me to a mortuary just to prove me wrong,” he quipped, with a faint, challenging glint, ”that would be a dead end for our wager.”

Doctor Hoshino offered a thin, humourless smile, eyes narrowing. ”No, Apprentice Hamura. Your ’parlour tricks’ won’t work here.” Her low whisper aimed to crush his overconfidence, emphasising the wing’s grim reality.

Meanwhile, Kiko, a nurse assigned by Tsunade to closely monitor Ryu, listened intently. Alarm crossed her face; knowing the wing’s grim reputation, she slipped away without hesitation, her heart pounding with frantic worry. This new development demanded immediate attention.

”Tsunade-sama!” Kiko exclaimed, breathless.

Tsunade looked up, her intense golden gaze fixed. ”What is it, Kiko? Did Ryu escape from the hospital?”

”He was treating patients,” Kiko said quickly. ”He used a mirror box to treat one. The other doctors were shocked.”

”Hoh?” Tsunade murmured, a flicker of interest. A hint of a smile touched her lips. ”A mirror box? Interesting and unconventional, just like my nephew.”

”Yes! But then, Doctor Hoshino, she took it on her ego,” Kiko continued, indignation rising. ”She challenged him, saying he overstepped, being just an apprentice! She was very stern and quite rude! But Ryu defended himself so calmly. Then she challenged him again. She had led him to the Untreatable Patients’ Wing. It feels like she’s setting him up to fail.”

Tsunade leaned back, a thoughtful expression deepening into a slow, knowing grin. Her eyes glinted with amusement and pride. ”Well, this just got interesting,” she mused, a mischievous note in her voice. ”I was getting quite bored.”

A small knot of worry tightened in Nurse Kiko’s stomach as she observed. ”Doctor Hoshino’s clearly trying to suppress him. It’s unethical. But Tsunade-sama seems unconcerned. Is this confidence?”

Tsunade, sensing Kiko’s worry, offered a reassuring glance. ”Relax. Failures won’t keep my nephew down. If he failed, that is. He is a stubborn one. Besides,” she mused, ”seeing him humble this doctor will be entertaining.”

”Let’s go see for ourselves,” Tsunade decided, pushing herself up from the desk.

In Ward-4, Doctor Hoshino led Ryu to a private room. Inside, an unnaturally still unconscious boy lay on a bed, beside a pale, double amputee girl in a wheelchair.

”So, who’s the patient?” Ryu asked, his gaze sweeping the room. ”The girl with wheels or the unconscious boy?”

Doctor Hoshino stated, her tone dripping with challenge, a thin, triumphant smile. ”The unconscious boy, naturally. His name is Souji. He’s been in this state for months—a severe brain injury. Can you treat it with mirrors?” She gestured to the boy, presenting him as a trophy of medical failure.

Ryu immediately recognised the trap set by Doctor Hoshino to challenge his abilities. Other doctors shifted uncomfortably, exchanging uncertain glances between Ryu and Hoshino.

Just then, the heavy door swung inward. Tsunade strode in, her commanding aura instantly silencing the room, snapping the tension. Doctor Hoshino, caught off guard, her smug smile vanishing, snapped to attention, offering a strained, deferential bow. ”Lady Tsunade! We... we weren’t expecting you.”

Tsunade gave a curt nod, her golden eyes sweeping the room, settling on Ryu, then the staff. ”So,” she began, calm but with steel, ”I hear my nephew has been quite... active.”

Nervous, Doctor Endo stepped forward. ”Yes, Lady Tsunade. Your nephew is quite innovative and Impressive.”

Doctor Hoshino cut in, her voice saccharine yet sharp. ”While innovative, Lady Tsunade, his methods are unconventional and reckless for an apprentice. He even used a mere mirror for a complex neurological condition.” Her tone implied lunacy. ”Now, he’s diagnosing a case that stumped us. I merely wished to provide a... learning opportunity.”

Tsunade waved a dismissive hand, silencing Hoshino. Her patience thin, she fixed her gaze on Ryu. ”Do your thing,” she commanded, a clear vote of confidence.

Ryu nodded, turning to the unconscious boy. He began the check-up. Rina, the girl in the wheelchair, watched, surprised by his intense focus and unquestioning authority. Ryu swiftly reviewed reports, his keen observational skills absorbing details, then performed his own assessment, guided by subtle scepticism.

- Vitals: Stable

- Reports: Inconsistent

- Muscles: Locked in place, rigid, consistent with locked-in muscle syndrome

Ryu glanced at Doctor Hoshino’s smug smile, realising the challenge she had set for him. He returned her smile, a slow, knowing grin that drew an infuriated gasp. He mused.

Tsunade watched, piqued. ”So, what’s the diagnosis, Ryu?” she interrupted.

Rina leaned closer to Kiko and enquired, ”What’s happening? Who is that?”

Kiko whispered back, ”That’s Lady Tsunade, the legendary medical ninja. And he’s her nephew, Medical Apprentice Ryu Hamura.”

Rina’s eyes widened. ”An apprentice? Are you serious? He’s a kid!”

Ryu addressed Tsunade: ”Blunt force trauma. No muscular activity beyond locked-in muscle syndrome. His eyes blink but don’t follow anything. But he does blink in response to stimuli.”

Tsunade’s eyes narrowed as she listened intently, impressed by her nephew’s assessment.

Doctor Hoshino scoffed but quickly regained composure, her face tightening in response. ”That’s a reflex, Mr. Apprentice! His brain is dead, there is no—”

Ryu smiled and interrupted, asking, ”Maybe. But how can you be so sure?”

”If it were purely voluntary,” Hoshino retorted sharply, ”his eyes would follow things. It’s basic neurology!” Other doctors nodded.

He leaned in. ”Souji, blink once if this doctor doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

Souji’s eyelid twitched, then closed and opened. Once. Distinctly.

A collective gasp, then choked giggles and laughter erupted. Even Tsunade fought a smile. Doctor Hoshino’s face turned volcanic red, jaw slack. Rina, streaming tears, sobbed with laughter as Souji slowly blinked again, confirming his defiance.

Then, his demeanour shifted. His calm, firm voice cut through the fading amusement, commanding attention. ”This moment, while entertaining, highlights a critical lesson: Lives depend on your thoroughness. Admitting error and seeking other opinions isn’t weakness—it’s professionalism. Always double-check. Always question. Always consider possibilities beyond current understanding. Because,” he finished, eyes hardening as they met Hoshino’s, ”a life hangs in the balance.”

Doctor Hoshino scoffed, louder this time, her face tightening. ”One twitch doesn’t prove anything! It’s a dying reflex! We’ve seen this before, a last gasp of neural activity before complete cessation!” Several other doctors nodded, a few whispering in agreement, clinging to the familiar. ”Your diagnosis is based on wishful thinking, Mr. Apprentice, not medical fact. We need something concrete.”

Ryu’s smile didn’t waver. He turned to Souji, a mischievous glint in his eyes. ”Very well. A more concrete diagnosis.”

Ryu looked at Souji again and asked, louder this time, ”Souji, blink twice if you think she’s a bitch.”

Souji’s eyes blinked once, then, with a distinct, deliberate pause, twice.

The room erupted again, louder: gasps, snorts, and uncontrolled laughter. Tsunade threw her head back, booming with delight. Doctor Hoshino’s eyes bulged, her entire body stiffening as if struck, before she let out a strangled cry, her face now a shade of purple, her hands clenching. Rina was openly sobbing with laughter, clutching her stomach.

”He said it, not me,” Ryu declared, spreading his hands innocently, his playful glint now fully evident. ”Don’t shoot the messenger!”

More laughter, a little louder this time, rippled through the onlookers, mixed with a few muffled snorts.

Then, his demeanour shifted once more, the playful glint replaced by a deep, earnest seriousness that silenced the room instantly.

”Souji,” Ryu said, his voice resonating with quiet conviction, ”blink thrice if you think I am awesome.”

Souji blinked slowly three times, each blink deliberate and meaningful.

A small smile tugged at the corners of Ryu’s lips, a sense of satisfaction evident in his eyes as he glanced around the room. The tension dissipated, giving way to a chorus of laughter and applause as everyone present approved and admired Souji’s response.

Ryu’s smile was soft and genuine. ”And Souji,” he then stated, his voice deepening with powerful, hopeful command, ”blink four times if you want to get better!”

With each blink, Souji’s will shone brighter. The boy seemed to be fully conscious, both physically and mentally, and more than that, his hopes were alive too, refusing to be extinguished.

A/N: If I could get 100 collections or 50 power stones or 5 reviews in the next 24 hours, I would do a double release. Reaching any one of the targets could get you an additional Chapter. Or read it for free right now on Patreon.